China launches first cargo rocket

China today launched its first cargo rocket into orbit in a bid to bolster national security with space assets.

Tianzhou-1 cargo resupply spacecraft fired toward the Tiangong 2 space laboratory, on a Long March-7 Y2 rocket launched from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre in Hainan, according to Reuters.

The mission is to create a permanently manned space station by 2020 with assigned military, commercial and scientific purposes according to State media.

The new space infrastructure is a major advance for China, in effort to catch up with U.S. space capabilities.